Athena Picture

I chose her because she is one of the goddesses that I most identify with. She is wise and the goddess of tactical warfare, which means she plans her attacks.

I chose to show her taking some time off to take a relaxing and soothing bathe. She has taken off her weapons and armour and they lay scattered about her. Her owl companion is patiently waiting, averting his eyes so that she may cleanse herself. She holds a large leaf with which she is using to gather water to bathe herself; as the water lands in the leaf, it becomes sacred and purified through her holy touch. Being a goddess, she has a inner light, which is seen eminating from her.

In Greek mythology, Athena, the shrewd companion of heroes, was the goddess of wisdom. She was the patroness of weaving, crafts and the more disciplined side of war {tactics and planning}. The owl is her animal campanion/symbol. She is often accompanied by the goddess of victory, Nike. She is often shown with helmet, shield, and a breastplate with the head of Medusa {the gorgon} on it {some sources say it is on the shield}. Athena is an armed warrior goddess, and appears in Greek mythology as a helper of many heroes, including Heracles, Jason, and Odysseus. She was one of the handful of goddesses in Greek Mythology who remained a virgin. In the Olympian pantheon, Athena was remade as the favorite daughter of Zeus, born fully armed from his forehead after he swallowed her mother, Metis. She thought to be his first-born child, which accords her special status: the weapons for which she is so famous are weapons she and he share exclusively, including the thunderbolt. Athens was her patron city; there, her followers built her a temple atop the Acropolis. Most of the temple still remains to this day.

"The fable of Arachne is a late addition to Greek mythology.... Arachne's name simply means "spider". Arachne was the daughter of Idmon of Colophon, who was a famous dyer in Tyrian purple. She was a fine weaver in Hypaipa of Lydia who became so conceited of her skill as a weaver that she began claiming that her skill was greater than that of Athena, the goddess of weaving. Athena was angered, but gave Arachne a chance to redeem herself. Assuming the form of an old woman, she warned Arachne not to offend the gods. Arachne scoffed and wished for a weaving contest, so she could prove her skill. Athena dropped her disguise and the contest began. Athena wove the scene of her victory over Poseidon that had inspired the people of Athens to name their city for her. Arachne's tapestry featured twenty-one episodes of the infidelity of the gods: Jupiter being unfaithful with Leda, with Europa, with Danae..... Even Athena admitted that Arachne's work was flawless, but was outraged at Arachne's disrespectful choice of subjects that displayed the failings and transgressions of the gods. Finally losing her temper, Athena destroyed Arachne's tapestry and loom, striking it with her shuttle, and struck Arachne on the head as well. Arachne realized her folly and was crushed with shame. She ran off and hanged herself. Athena took pity on Arachne. Sprinkling her with the juices of aconite, Athena loosened the rope, which became a cobweb, while Arachne herself was changed into a spider. The story suggests that the origin of weaving lay in imitation of spiders and that it was considered to have been perfected first in Asia Minor." --Wikipedia